


Hum

by Eiznel24



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 06:07:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13242057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eiznel24/pseuds/Eiznel24
Summary: After a long moment of silence, sound began to escape his throat in the form of a hum, the tune she had sung burned into his memory. At an octave lower, the song seemed even more melancholy than when she sang it, and he knew he would not experience the peace she had when the tune had been passing her lips.





	Hum

**Author's Note:**

> First foray into Final Fantasy 7 fanfic in ten years. It's not much, but it's something. Please enjoy.

Vincent perched lightly on the sill of the window in his room at the inn and stared beyond the glass with no expression on his face. He’d long since lost the ability to do much more than frown, possibly due to the torture inflicted upon his body, or perhaps due to his self-imposed punishment. The setting sun bathed him a deep fiery glow, and he glanced down at himself, feeling the self-loathing rising in his chest, burning at the base of his throat. It was all too easy to imagine himself covered in the blood of those he had loved, the one he had vowed to protect and ultimately failed. He knew he had never harmed her directly, but his inaction…his inaction was as good as having slain her himself in cold blood. A slight shudder coursed through him and he shut his eyes. He didn’t like to stop for rest. Stopping meant he was left to himself, gave him time to think, reflect, get lost in the agony of his failure.

Crimson eyes peered from beneath pale lids, focusing on nothing in particular. The group he traveled with would have dinner soon, and a knock would come at his door, inviting him down. He never acquiesced, of course. There was little need for food or drink, given his…changes. Of the many times they had paused to rest, he had joined them perhaps twice, and never had he joined in conversation unless absolutely necessary. He had nothing worth saying. They would go North, soon. North, toward Sephiroth…toward Lucrecia’s son. His flesh hand clenched into a tight fist, and his eyes narrowed. Without fail, every thought turned toward the one he had loved most. Emotion surged in him for but a moment, nearly overwhelming in its intensity, until he shoved it down with a mental snarl, ruby eyes gaining a glow before falling shut. Too much meant he ran the risk of losing control, giving in to the demons howling in the back of his mind, both metaphorical and literal.

But still, he couldn’t direct his thoughts away from her, his mind wandering away to times fondly remembered without his permission. A dark voice whispered that he didn’t deserve to remember anything good, and he wasn’t sure if it was him or one of the demons. He wasn’t sure if it mattered when it was the truth. Despite that, he let himself indulge…just this once.

Lucrecia sat outside the mansion, her fingers trailing along the tops of some wildflowers. Vincent stood several paces away, his posture stiff and professional, glancing down at her out of the corner of his eye. The flowers were a pale yellow and lavender, and he thought they matched her perfectly, cursing himself even as the thought crossed his mind. Lucrecia was his responsibility, not a friend, not a potential interest. Yet…

And yet…

_“I think…you should relax.”_

Vincent snapped to attention, and turned his head to look her direction, looking surprised. Lucrecia’s eyes glittered with mirth, her long hair spilling over her shoulder as she shifted her torso to face him.

_“Relaxing would compromise my mission to keep you safe,”_ he said, his expression settling into what he hoped was detached. Something told him she could see straight through the attempt.

She lifted a finger to her lips, humming thoughtfully, and he fought not to focus on it.

_“It wouldn’t hurt just this once, would it?”_

_“Miss Lucrecia…”_ he warned, trying his best to sound put upon.

A giggle passed her lips, but she didn’t protest anymore. A light breeze tousled her bangs, and she lifted a hand to brush them away, letting him see the soft smile she still wore. Moments of silence passed between them, Vincent returning to scanning the area around him until Lucrecia felt like returning inside the building. When the noise first reached his ears, he’d frowned in confusion until he looked over in Lucrecia’s direction again to realize the sound was coming from her. She was humming softly, some melody that brought to mind a sense of melancholy. Vincent said nothing, but continued to watch her, not realizing his posture had relaxed. In that moment, he was the image of a love-struck boy, never having been quite so enthralled with anyone or anything in his life. She wasn’t pitch-perfect by any means, but it was hummed with heart, and she looked so at peace, so beautiful, that the world could have ended and he wouldn’t have noticed or cared. He didn’t even notice when she stopped humming.

Hazel eyes found his red ones and he gulped quietly, not knowing what she would think catching him openly staring. To his surprise, a smile grew on her face and her eyes crinkled around the edges.

_“That’s better. You look more relaxed already!”_

Vincent pulled himself back to the present day with a shake of his head and tilted his face up, then down as fresh pain coursed through his heart. Another tremor passed through his limbs and his fist clenched itself once more, the other digging its golden claws into his leg. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax, letting everything drain out of him. His eyes fell shut, his chin still tucked close to his chest. After a long moment of silence, sound began to escape his throat in the form of a hum, the tune she had sung burned into his memory. At an octave lower, the song seemed even more melancholy than when she sang it, and he knew he would not experience the peace she had when the tune had been passing her lips.

He let himself sink into it, longing and anger and grief clenching his heart so tightly he thought he might have died were he not a monster. It wasn’t until the song was drawing to its end that he noticed someone was in the room and humming along with him. His eyes shot open and he slowly looked up, tilting his face toward the intruder, cursing himself for not being more aware. Aeris stood in the middle of the darkened room, her hands clasped together, head bowed and eyes closed, as if praying. She had no need to pray for a beast such as he. He was unworthy. He pushed away from the sill and stood quietly, staring her down and waiting for her to open her eyes. When she did and met his gaze, he took note that they were filled with tears, despite the small smile she wore.

“…why are you crying?”

As if just realizing it for herself, she gasped a soft ‘oh!’ and turned around, bowing her head again.  

“I’m sorry, Vincent,” she whispered shakily. “It’s just…my mother used to sing that to me.” Her hands clasped together again, rising up to just barely touch her lips. He didn’t know how, but he could hear her smile. “You have a beautiful voice.”

He said nothing, watching the barely noticeable shake in her shoulders. She was crying again. He felt himself frown. It seemed that even in his solitude, he only served to upset others. Aeris, least of all, needed to be upset, especially with her forcing her cheer so much. Oh, of course he’d noticed that her smiles had become strained, never reaching her eyes. Some deep grief was buried inside her that she refused to share with anyone. Something had happened at the Temple, something far beyond what had happened within the Temple’s crater. She knew something, something that burdened her greatly, but he wasn’t going to force her to tell him or anyone else. It was not his place.

“My apologies.”

Aeris was shaking her head even before he finished, her long braid swaying behind her. He watched it sway, then shifted his gaze to take in all of her, feeling something inside of him crack when his mind’s eye superimposed Lucrecia’s image onto Aeris. His breath caught, his body going rigid as he scrambled to dispel the illusion. Before he realized what he was doing, he’d taken a few steps forward, his golden claw reaching toward her, and for a moment, he wasn’t sure who he was reaching for. She turned to face him and stilled when she saw his hand, tear-filled emerald eyes widening. Vincent was frozen, the image gone, and his own ruby orbs glued to the offending appendage. With some effort, he forced it to return to his side, eyes darting down and to the side in shame.

Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Aeris’s boot-clad feet move into his personal space, just barely past the golden tips of his boots. Suddenly he felt a warm body press into his chest and arms wrapping around his waist. He tensed, his arms raising to push her away. Aeris shouldn’t deign to taint herself with such filth.

“Don’t,” she murmured, and his hands froze in the air. He stared at the space above her head, doing his best to ignore her and wait for her to be done.

“Aeris, I do not deserve to—”

“Vincent, please don’t tell me what you do and don’t deserve. Please. I need this as much as you do.”

“But I don’t—”

Her tiny fingers dug into his shirt, as much of a warning as she could give him. He quieted.

“Yes you do. You’re so sad, Vincent, so…trapped.”

“…”

His hands slowly came to rest upon her shoulders featherlight, neither pulling or pushing. Faintly, he felt her smile against his chest.

“One of these days, you’ll forgive yourself. I promise.”

“Forgiveness…”

“The most important step in the path to redemption,” she said softly.

Vincent frowned again, wondering at her tone. It sounded as if she wouldn’t be around to witness his progress, should it ever come. As if sensing that he was going to start asking questions, she pulled away, smiling.

“Thank you for reminding me of that song. I’m going to treasure it.” She turned around, heading toward the door, not allowing him a chance to think of an appropriate response. “Oh, and Vincent?” Their eyes locked, but he didn’t miss the way her hand clenched around the doorknob.

“Yes?”

She hesitated for a moment, but continued.

“Keep singing. Your voice is too beautiful to go to waste.”

Once more, she left him no chance to respond, the door clicking shut behind her. Vincent remained still, watching the shadow of her feet in front of his door for several moments before it disappeared.

Her smile still hadn’t reached her eyes. And that had sounded a lot like a final request. A well-controlled Fire spell lit the candle at the desk, and he sighed soundlessly. Aeris had been delighted that he used candles, saying it was a kind gesture toward the planet. It had simply been what he was used to, but he felt no reason to tell her as much, simply nodding. She had left him much to think about tonight, sitting heavily amongst his various sins, vying for attention.

Perched on the edge of his bed, one knee raised toward his face, he closed his eyes, expression neutral.

After a long moment, he began to hum.


End file.
